Living in a Daydream
by Tsumirei
Summary: There was no doubt about it, she was gone forever. It wasn't right anymore, like he was just living in a daydream. Important notice to clear up any confusion.
1. The Return of Spring and Memories

**Clockwork Sorrow**_  
_

_The Return of Spring and Memories_

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto 

**Note**: This fanfic takes place after the current storyline...eight years to be exact. So character ages for the Rookie Nine should be around age 19, and Team Gai should be around age 20.

-:-

Sasuke leaned back on the hard chair, his hands at the back of his head, his onyx eyes shut tight. His pale skin glowed as the moonlight hit its smooth surface, his pale lips formed in a smirk. Those perfect, onyx eyes slowly opened, and scanned his surroundings. A year had passed since his return to Konoha, his seven-year absence greatly surprising all of its villagers. However, he couldn't help but let his eyes wander towards the necklace hanging on his dresser; it was shaped like a cherry blossom, with emeralds carved into its silver surface. Like his skin, it also shined in the moonlight, and slowly getting up from his chair, he walked towards it in a trance. Taking its smooth surface into his calloused palms, he gently ran his long fingers across its surface, his eyes softening at its cherry blossom shape. As the emeralds glistened in the light, he couldn't help but bring himself to remember what he chose not to.

_I'm not supposed to be showing my emotions._

When he had returned to Konoha eight years ago in the spring, it wasn't the welcoming he had hoped for. Instead, villagers crowded around him, disgusted that he had decided to show his face in the Land of Fire once more, mutterings of 'traitor' and glares of disgust present on their faces and heard in his ears. However, he didn't pay any mind to _them_; since when did he care about what _they _thought, anyway? Instead, his onyx eyes were hardened and stiff, more so than they were seven years ago. What his eyes had forced him to see before only brought more pain to his mind and his heart, causing his eyes to harden and force an invisible wall between them and the world. He could only remember when there were his teammates; Naruto, the electric blonde with his matching cerulean eyes; Sakura, the pink-haired kunoichi with the brains, talents, strength, and beauty, which came along with a suitable name; Kakashi, the famous Copy-nin and perverted yet amazingly strong talents. But as he scanned his surroundings, he only saw _their_ obnoxious hair, Naruto's spiky blonde, and Kakashi's scarecrow-like silver. There was no sign of the pink hair, the emerald eyes, or the pale skin that glittered in the sunlight. No, not at all, and only he knew the real reason why.

Later on in the months, when he had gained the trust of the Godaime Tsunade, and passed his Chuunin and Jounin exams without breaking a sweat, he was promoted to ANBU, and soon became an ANBU captain, one of Tsunade's finest and most trusted, along with others he once new; Hyuuga Neji, Uzumaki Naruto, Nara Shikamaru, and Rock Lee. Others, he had noticed, remained as one of the top ANBU, without the trusted Captain position but part of the best squads in the department. As his trust was regained and he was once again respected as the sole Uchiha, many began to question why the pink haired woman had yet to be seen. Only he knew the answer, but he wouldn't let them know.

_I promised her, anyway._

He could only bring himself to remember when he was so bloodthirsty and unfeeling, a wall of indestructible ice covering his heart. Even so, he always had plans for the _future_ after his revenge was finished. After all, he had to be prepared if he wanted to continue living after his life's goal was accomplished. Before his mother had died, she had always told him.

"_Sasuke-kun, there are always doors and paths to life. Once you finish walking through a door, a new door and a new path will open to you. And all you can do, as a person, is to walk through them like any other."_

As his onyx eyes wandered slowly back to the necklace, he felt his mind clouding over with pain and cluttered over with too many memories. He had always believed his mother's words, from the time she had began teaching him philosophy, to the very moments of his present life, even when she was gone. He always remembered them, and always found the truth in them in some events or in another. Looking at himself through his dresser mirror, he couldn't help but wonder as onyx eyes stared into his own.

_I do not see, nor do I feel, a new door...a new path in life._ _Had I destroyed myself already?_

Jolted back to reality by the silent, early spring breeze, he once again stared down at the necklace before him. As he slowly and gently placed the necklace back to its place on his dresser, he wandered slowly to his bedside, and stared out the window of the Uchiha Manor. Staring at the budding cherry blossoms from afar, he felt the empty space in his heart tear him apart.

_It is always reserved for her._

Emptiness had long since become a familiar feeling to him. From the time his clan was brutally massacred from their pride, his _brother_, to the very seconds of his current life, emptiness was always there to greet him. Though he made no move to get rid of it as it strangely gave him a different sort of company, it would always tear him apart when spring would pass by, along with the blooming cherry blossoms and their alluring scents blown by the wind.

_I'll let it tear me apart, as long as she remembers it is hers. Besides...we promised each other things that day._

As he lay down on his bed, and pulled the dark blue covers over him, his onyx eyes couldn't help but steal a glance at the shimmering necklace on his dresser, light sparkles of emerald and silver covering everything that lay in its path. He slowly closed them, hoping to drift off into a dreamless slumber. However, before he lost all consciousness to deep slumber, he could only feel that he was living in a fabricated reality, an artificial world, where all the current time stopped around him; the _clockwork sorrow_, he called it. And before he lost true consciousness and feeling, an image appeared before the darkness of his closed eyes.

_That beautiful, silky, short pink hair, those dazzling emerald eyes…_

_Your spitting image…Sakura._

-:-

Gasp! Another fanfic? This was originally going to be part of Reminiscence, but it would be a while, and the idea just popped into my head. And, if you couldn't tell already, it's _more than likely_ to be a SasuxSaku. So, please read and review?

Thank you for reading!


	2. Gone Forever, Forever Etched

**Clockwork Sorrow**

_Gone Forever, Forever Etched_

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

_-:-_

Onyx eyes opened after a long sleep as they were blinded from the penetrating sunlight. Sasuke slowly got up into a sitting position on his bed, rubbing his temples as he felt a humongous migraine coming on. As he moved to get out of his bed, the shimmering silver on his dresser caught his attention, and he groaned in irritation.

_Not this again._

He made his move to get into the shower before he felt rocks nearly splitting his bedroom window apart. Thinking it was one of his fan girls, he opened up the window, grabbed one of the thrown rocks, and forcefully threw it down.

"Agh, Sasuke-teme! That hurt like crap!"

_Hn. Not a fan girl...but I think I would have thrown that rock anyway if I had known it was the dobe..._

Moving on so he could lean on his balcony railing, he looked down and saw the electric blond splash of hair from above. As his teammate returned the gaze with his cerulean eyes, an obvious red bump forming on his forehead, he grinned his foxy grin.

"Sasuke-teme, let's spar! I'm feeling rusty since Tsunade-baa-chan won't assign us any missions!"

A smirk graced his pale lips, and briefly disappearing, he reappeared within minutes next to his teammate, this time dressed in his regular clothes. He began to walk towards their usual sparring spot, and looked behind him to see a flabbergasted Naruto, facing some _woman _with his back to Sasuke.

"DOBE, hurry the hell up! I thought you wanted to spar!"

Naruto looked behind him to see a _very _irritated Uchiha, and began to run towards him. When he had finally caught up with him, a faint blush could be seen on his cheeks, and he was rubbing his hair. Sasuke smirked, looking at his sparring partner through the corner of his eyes.

"Who were you talking to back there?"

Naruto's cheeks reddened, and Sasuke continued to smirk as he saw Naruto's reaction.

"Er...just Hinata-chan..."

"_Just _Hinata?"

If it was possible for Naruto's face to get even redder, then they did. The two remained silent and left it at that. However, seeing Naruto's denseness begin to fade away and _finally _being able to see Hinata's long crush on him made Sasuke feel the emptiness in his heart tear at him again.

_It's her again. _

Before they knew it, they arrived at the bridge, Team 7's old meeting spot. It was an unspoken rule for both of them to spar here. Who knew...maybe it was because it assuaged their pain from their missing teammate.

"Well, let's go, dobe."

And thus, their sparring began. At first, they decided to spice up their taijutsu skills, since it had been so long since they had actually _used _taijutsu. Next, they decided to brush up on their ninjutsu, _just _to make sure they could still do the hand seals in proficient yet speedy time. Saving the best for last, they both began to prepare their signature moves: Rasengan and Chidori.

"Let's see how much we've improved, Sasuke-teme!"

Sasuke smirked as he felt the electricity build up in his hands. Through the year with working with Naruto, they had become close enough to know exactly when their moves were completely finished and ready to be set free. Naruto no longer need a clone to support him, and Sasuke no longer needed a running start. Indeed, they had improved and became nearly equal as rivals.

"Well, let's go, dobe."

Naruto smiled; his Rasengan and Sasuke's Chidori were nearly done.

"Bring it, teme."

The two charged forward together, the spring breeze following them in suite. As Sasuke was about to strike, the wind had blown a flurry of early cherry blossoms in the small space between them, and Sasuke lost his focus. He readily felt Naruto's chakra moving forward towards him, and to save his life, he nimbly dodged, the Rasengan barely glazing off his body.

"Haha, Sasuke-teme! What was that about?"

Sasuke fell to the ground, clutching his head, as his onyx eyes remained fixed on the fallen cherry blossoms.

_Damn it! It's getting to me again..._

His hands trembled with pain as they reached out to grab the delicate blossom off the dirt.

"Oi! Sasuke-teme!"

Before he knew it, he was thrown into a coughing fit, and blood flew out of his mouth and onto the ground.

_Damn! He barely hit me! It has to be her..._

His onyx eyes winced as the cherry blossoms brought bitter memories into his mind. Memories that he had long since hidden away from himself to prevent his own demise.

"Haha! Sasuke-teme! I was supposed to be the one coughing up blood, not you! Hey! Our bet! I WIN OUR BET!"

Sasuke rubbed his temples in irritation as Naruto's loud voice was beginning to spark a _very _large migraine.

"I WIN! I MAKE YOU COUGH UP BLOOD IN A SPAR, AND YOU TREAT ME TO RAMEN!"

He swiftly grabbed a kunai from his pouch and threw it at Naruto, in hopes to silence him.

"Oi, Sasuke-teme? Are you alright?"

Sasuke glared at Naruto quickly before returning his gaze back to the cherry blossoms before him. His pale, calloused hands gently grabbed the fragile flower, his onyx eyes scanning the soft petals. As he stared close enough, sprinkles of the blood he had coughed up were splattered across the flowers.

_Damn...it's a sign..._

Naruto looked overhead, and found a hawk circling above them. As he went to tell Sasuke, a kunai sharply impaled itself in the trunk beside them, and their ANBU tattoos began to burn a bright red.

"Hurry up, teme. Tsunade-baa-chan wants us."

Sasuke slowly got up, the fragile blossom still within his calloused hands. As he nodded to Naruto, the two of them began performing hand seals, and found themselves inside the Hokage tower.

"Come in, you two."

Naruto and Sasuke complied, and when they came inside their Hokage's office, they nearly face-faulted at the sight of her desk. There were empty sake bottles scattered around the room and around the floor, papers flying off the desk, and in the middle, a _very _irritated Tsunade. Her faded chestnut eyes bore bags beneath them, and her body showed signs of extreme worry and fatigue.

"Yes, Hokage-sama?" Sasuke asked.

She motioned for the two to sit down on the chairs before her desk; Naruto complied, but Sasuke chose to lean on the wall next to the window as his onyx eyes gazed out at the world going on around them.

"I'm still unable to find Haruno Sakura's whereabouts. None of the other villages in our alliance have seen her, either."

Sasuke winced. It was like any other day they were called to the Hokage's office. She always looked tired and worried, and _always _had those sake bottles she didn't let Shizune carry out to clean.

"Ne, Tsunade-baa-chan, maybe we haven't looked hard enough! I'm sure Sakura-chan is out there somewhere! She couldn't have died!" Naruto said.

Tsunade looked at him, and forced a smile to grace her lips. She closed her faded chestnut eyes, and took in deep breaths.

"Naruto, this has been going on for _more _than a year. No matter how many teams I send out, no matter how many villages I look in, I can't _find _her!"

Sasuke remained silent through all of this. He couldn't cry out and tell them what he knew. No, that would shatter his pride. After all, he _did _promise her.

"Sasuke, the last mission assigned to her before her disappearance was to _find you_. Are you _certain _you two didn't make contact at all? Do you remember seeing pink? Heck, at least tell us if you saw a hint of pink around there!'

"I saw pink everywhere, Orochimaru _sure _loved to keep the Sound flowery and girly."

Tsunade winced as the image began forming in her mind. _Orochimaru...skipping...throwing pink flowers..._

"Damn it, Sasuke! This isn't a time for joking! Orochimaru obsesses with _purple_, not pink!"

Sasuke averted his gaze from the window and looked at her, his regular stoic expression still present on his face.

"I never said I was joking, Hokage-sama."

His gaze then returned to the world going on outside of the window.

"Sasuke, she's _essential, a necessity. _Just like you. Her medical expertise is greatly needed here!"

Naruto shrugged, leaning back onto his chair and closing his cerulean eyes.

"Train another apprentice, Tsunade-baa-chan."

"Naruto, I don't _have _time to train any other apprentices! I'm _Hokage_, for goodness sake! No time!"

The two ANBU remained silent, and she was beginning to lose her already-short patience.

"By the way, Hokage-sama, why were we the only ones called in her? Wouldn't Hyuuga make more use out of us? He has the Byakugan, if you forgot."

Tsunade began slamming her head against the table, magically poofing up a full bottle of sake and chugging it down.

"_Because_, you two were closest to her, besides Yamanaka and Hyuuga! You should remember her behavior on the field, chakra levels, _everything!_ It should be etched into your chakra systems by now!"

Naruto shrugged.

"It's been so long that I'm beginning to forget, Tsunade-baa-chan."

Sasuke smirked at his teammate's stupidity.

"Besides," he continued, "You haven't been assigning us any missions lately, anyway! Stupid Neji's getting all the fun."

Tsunade twitched, ready to punch Naruto out of her office.

"And Hokage-sama..."

She averted her gaze to the Uchiha standing by her window, eyeing him carefully.

"There's no doubt about it; she's gone like the wind, gone forever until she's able to show her face here again."

"So you _did _encounter her before her disappearance."

Sasuke shrugged, his onyx eyes fixed on the cherry blossoms blooming near the tower.

"As you said before, Hokage-sama," he paused to stare at the cherry blossoms one last time, and looked into his Hokage's faded chestnut orbs, "we were closest to her, so we have seen her behavior, which has been unconsciously etched into our systems."

Tsunade smirked, intertwining her hands together as she rest her chin on them.

"Good. Here's your new mission, Uzumaki...Uchiha."

-:-


	3. Shattered Petals, Fragile Hearts

**Clockwork Sorrow**

_Shattered Petals, Fragile Hearts_

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

-:-

**Recap **

"_Good. Here's your new mission, Uzumaki...Uchiha."_

**End Recap **

-:-

Naruto jumped out of his chair in excitement.

"No way, Tsunade-baa-chan! Finally! What is it?"

Tsunade smirked, staring down the one who convinced her to become Hokage. Her gaze then wandered to the stoic Uchiha, who was still leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, his onyx eyes hardened and glaring her down. If she had looked hard enough, she would have been able to see the hurt look present on his pale face, but she was too distracted by Naruto's childish antics to see it there.

"I'm sure Sasuke knows...don't you?" She asked.

Sasuke looked at her through his onyx orbs, and looked away, his gaze once again returned to the cherry blossoms.

"What? Hey! Teme! What is it, what is it?!" Naruto asked.

Sasuke remained silent, his eyes narrowed to force away his emotions.

"...Hn."

Tsunade laughed as Naruto raged on, ready to pick a fight with his long-time teammate and rival. Before he was able to deal a hit, Tsunade's voice stopped him.

"Find Haruno Sakura."

Naruto instantly shut up as he stared at Sasuke. Being his best friend, he knew what Sasuke's expression must have looked like. After all, he was the only one that had gotten the hint about what he knew about Sakura's whereabouts. His eyes couldn't see Sasuke's expression, but he already got the feeling of the hurt he was experiencing from the deadly aura coming out from him.

"...When are we allowed to go home, Tsunade-baa-chan?" Naruto asked, unusually silent.

Tsunade looked at him through those faded chestnut orbs, and instantly broke the gaze by looking to her side out the window.

"...When you find her."

Naruto's eyes widened, his eyes threatening to water as he averted his gaze to his teammate.

"Tsunade-baa-chan...are you just trying to hurt—..."

Naruto was cut off by Sasuke's sharp voice.

"Mission status and reports?" He sharply asked, still facing the window.

Tsunade looked at Sasuke, one of her finest, and closed her eyes, resting her chin on her still intertwined hands.

"Mission status starts tomorrow at the break of dawn. You two will not remain together. You will cover more ground if you split up. Reports come and go as you please. Be it everyday, every week, every hour, whatever. As long as you deem it important."

Naruto stared at his feet, clenching his fists and grinding his teeth together to prevent his cerulean eyes from tearing up.

"Tsunade-baa-chan..."

Tsunade looked at him, acknowledging him to continue.

"If _you_ can't find her...if _this _has been going on for more than year..."

Sasuke looked at his teammate from the corner of his eye.

"How much longer do you want to hurt him?"

Naruto looked at Tsunade, his eyes narrowing, and tears slowly beginning to crawl down his face.

"You know as much as I do, as much as _anyone _in this town...that it freaking _hurts _him when spring comes around. Everyone has known for some damn eight years! _How long_, Tsunade-baa-chan?"

Tsunade's eyes widened, as she looked at the blond in front of her. She hadn't considered that at all, but of course she knew how much it hurt him about Sakura. Before she could answer, Sasuke cut in, his voice sharp and menacing.

"I don't need sympathy," He spat.

Tsunade's eyes winced in pain, as she closed them to prevent _her _own eyes to prevent from tearing up. Sasuke moved from his spot on the window, and began walking out towards the door. Before he left, he threw a sideways glance at the two.

"Hokage-sama, Naruto."

He nodded, and left. Naruto stared at him, and began to run out and follow him. At the door, he stopped, his back facing his Hokage.

"Tsunade-baa-chan...you know...assigning ninja their weak points may cause them to grow stronger...but for Sasuke-teme..."

He paused, and slightly turned around so he would somewhat be facing his Hokage. She looked at him, silently urging him to go on.

"...Missions like these...will only break him apart more."

He forced a smile to grace his lips, and turned around to chase after his teammate. Tsunade stared at the air, closing her eyes in emotional pain. She stared at her desk, and her fists banged against the surface, nearly breaking it apart.

_Damn it...what have I done...?_

-:-

Naruto ran through the streets of Konoha, pumping chakra to his feet to make him go faster. Ninja and regular villagers stared as they saw the Yellow Flash zoom by them. After a few minutes of searching, he found Sasuke at their old meeting spot, his gaze on the lilies on the pond.

"Sasuke-teme!"

Sasuke acknowledged his presence by nodding his head at the sound of his name, his onyx eyes not leaving the lilies.

"Are you sure you want to do this mission?" He whispered.

Sasuke stared at him blankly, a smirk gracing his pale lips. He then averted his gaze back to the lilies on the pond.

"It's a mission. As a ninja, we must accept our duty and take the missions thrown at us."

Naruto stared at his teammate, and looked up at the darkening sky as the sun almost finished setting.

"Sasuke-teme, it'll only break you apart more. You'll be off focus the whole time, and you know that being off focus won't get you anywhere."

Sasuke slammed his fist on the bridge railing, glaring at his teammate in rage.

"Naruto, it's a mission! I'm already off focus! I _have _been ever since I got back here!" He spat.

Naruto closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.

"You know where she is, don't you?"

Sasuke then averted his gaze back to the lilies, the sky finally darkening and the stars popping out one by one, like they had just been sewn onto the sky's dark blue fabric.

"Not necessarily. I have a feeling I know where she is. But it's far away from here...farther than Hokage-sama has looked."

"When was the last time you saw her?"

Sasuke got off the railing and began walking back to his apartment. His head turned sideways and looked at his teammate. A spring breeze flew by, bringing cherry blossoms along with it. Sasuke caught one in his calloused hands; a twisted smile gracing his face.

"The last time I saw her, it wasn't _pink _like Hokage-sama would think. The last time...everything was _red_. More red than my Sharingan; _pools _of red."

The twisted smile remained on his face, as he held up the cherry blossom in his palm, and instantly crushing its petals with his calloused fingers. He then let the shattered blossoms go, the fragments of the petals flying downwards and upwards with the wind. Naruto stared as his teammate walked away, his cerulean eyes staring down at the fragmented petals.

"You'd think by now we'd all be used to the color red."

Giving his teammate one last look, he too departed from their meeting spot, walking in the other direction, to make his way back to his house.

_Looks like he's just like those broken petals; shattered into pieces like our dear Sakura-chan._

He continued walking towards his apartment, but stopped briefly as he reached the cherry blossom grove. His cerulean orbs scanned the blossoms, and he smiled.

_No doubt about it...Sasuke's got the clockwork sorrow...the perfect sorrow to tear him apart. I hope Sakura-chan can heal him soon..._

-:-

Sasuke stuffed his hands in his pockets, cursing whatever demon had forced him to crush the blossom in his hand. After he had returned to Konoha and found that Sakura had indeed disappeared, he never harmed the cherry blossoms; his calloused hands would always deal with them gently as if they were a fragile heart. Of course, to him, they _were _a fragile heart, as it reminded him of Sakura, as if every cherry blossom were her soul, and that he would never bring himself to crush it apart.

Without realizing, he had taken the longer way around to the Uchiha manor, and stopped as he reached Sakura's old apartment. There was nobody living in there, as Tsunade prohibited anyone from taking her beloved apprentice and daughter's home, but he could still smell Sakura's scent, see her image.

**Flashback**

"_I love you more than anything!" She yelled._

_Sasuke stopped in his tracks, his heart invisibly tearing apart. He continued walking, every step he made stabbing a million kunai into her heart._

"_If you leave, I'll scream!" _

_That did it. He was behind her in an instant; his voice quiet and sharp._

"_Thank you."_

**End Flashback**

Sasuke stared at her bedroom window, his eyes narrowed and stiffened, and he continued walking. The spring breeze brought another flurry of blossoms, and this time, he gently caught one in the palm of his hand. He gently stared at it, as if his regular stare would burn its fragile beauty.

"Do you still love me more than anything?" He whispered.

* * *

_No doubt about it...his clockwork sorrow will tear him apart if she doesn't heal him soon.

* * *

_


	4. Past Death

**Clockwork Sorrow**

_Past Death_

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

-:-

Sasuke sighed as he awoke early to prepare for his mission; the sky still dark, and stars still plastered onto the night sky. He slowly got out of his bed, staring out his blinded window, as if he had seen something there. Slowly walking towards his bathroom, the shining silver hanging on his dresser once again caught his eye before he had shut his door and got himself into the shower. The warm water on his pale skin gave him a sense of meditation; before he knew it, he was out, changed in his ANBU attire, and packing his things. As he was looking through his drawers and wandering about his room for the right supplies, the picture of Team 7 crossed his eyes. When he had returned, the picture was returned to its standing state, as he had left it sitting face down when he had left. He ran his fingers across the cold glass, remembering the Genin Days. He remembered Naruto's stupidity (but he remembered that everyday, as to him, Naruto was stupid even now) but his surprising strength and will, Sakura's innocence but excellence in chakra control, and Kakashi's perverted yet intellectual antics. However, when he returned, almost everything had changed. Sakura no longer there to cheer him on; Kakashi no longer his sensei. But as his gaze returned to the hyperactive blond ninja, he smirked. Everything was still the same about him. They were still eternal rivals, still (if you squint hard enough) the best of friends, and still teammates. He left the framed picture standing on his desk, feeling that it gave him strength of plausible security. As he turned around, the shining silver on his dresser once again caught his eye. He walked towards it, gently taking it into his calloused palms. Remembering how he had gotten a hold of such a beauty, a small, painful smile hidden in the shadows graced his lips. He had found it when he was staying in the Sound after finished a mission Orochimaru had assigned him. Seeing that it reminded him of his old teammate, he took it with no hesitation, and planned to give it to her when they were reunited. The small soon faded, but the pain remained evident on his face. Unable to leave it at his home unaccompanied for who-knows-how-long, he gently wrapped it around his wrist, where it would hidden by his ANBU gloves when he would put them on.

When his pack was ready, he slowly moved downstairs to this kitchen and opened his refrigerator door. He pulled out a drawer full of tomatoes, and looked closely, trying to find the perfect one to munch on before heading out on his mission. Finding one that passed all his standards, he grabbed it, shut the drawer and the refrigerator, and began to bite into his precious tomato, savoring the juices flooding into his mouth. After every bite, he would remember the times when Sakura bugged him about his love for tomatoes. It was a long story for him; nobody was supposed to know how much he loved tomatoes during his genin days. He was buying tomatoes in the market, trying to go about it as quickly as he could, making up excuses in his mind if anyone had asked him _why _in the world he was buying tomatoes, when Sakura wordlessly appeared next to him, she herself looking at the tomato selection.

**Flashback **

_Sasuke inwardly panicked as he picked the last of his tomatoes from the stand. Thoughts of Sakura figuring out about his obsession with tomatoes would surely bring chaos. Word of it would get to all his fan girls, and as soon as they had figured out, instead of showering him with chocolates and letters filled with sweet nothings, they would start writing their sweet nothings on tomatoes, completely wasting their tastiness. He inwardly shivered at the thought._

"_Ne Sasuke-kun...who are those tomatoes for?" She asked, looking at him from the corner of her emerald eyes as she continued picking out tomatoes._

"_...Hn." _

_Sakura smiled as her inner sweatdropped at his answer._

"_I'm just picking these out for Kaa-san. She said she needed them for something. I hope she doesn't waste them like last time..."_

_That seemed to hit the mark for Sasuke._

"_She _wasted _tomatoes?" He asked._

_Sakura stared at him, bewildered. It wasn't everyday that THE Uchiha Sasuke said something other than 'You're annoying' and 'Hn'. _

"_Well, yeah. She started throwing them at Tou-san before she actually got to cook them." _

_Sasuke twitched. How DARE someone waste perfectly tasty tomatoes? Sakura, unfortunately, noticed the twitch, and a mischievous grin played on her lips._

"_Sasuke-kun, do you LIKE tomatoes?"_

_Sasuke inwardly twitched this time, panic hidden beneath his cool façade. He silently paid for his tomatoes, but was held back by Sakura's pursuit in the topic._

"_After all, you bought like...fifty of them, Sasuke-kun...and all of them look ripe...so you would have to eat them right away if you would want them to taste good..." _

_Sasuke began to hastily walk away with his bag of tomatoes. He sighed with relief._

'_There aren't fifty in this bag...good thing she didn't notice...' He thought._

_And that started Sakura's secret with his obsession with tomatoes._

**End Flashback**

The time had come for Sasuke to meet Naruto at the gates and discuss which villages they would search, and when to send reports to each other to check up on their abilities. He had chosen to walk the longer way; the way where he had left Sakura on that _fateful _night. As he slowly walked, the image of her innocence continued to flash before his onyx eyes, and he silently scolded himself for letting a _woman _get to him. After what seemed like hours, he had reached the bench where he had left her. Her words continued to replay through his head.

"_I love you more than anything!" _

His onyx eyes once again stiffened, staring at the empty bench. Like so many other things, the bench was something that had changed when he last saw it. Last time, there was the pink kunoichi lying there unconscious, tears still flowing from her eyes. But this time...there was nothing there. He slowly continued walking, and passed by an open field where he had met her when they were young. It was after the massacre had happened, and she had come to him when she saw him crestfallen. They introduced each other, Sakura bubbly and giggly, Sasuke silent and inwardly scared and broken. He had noticed her bubbly and happy antics, asking her how she could do it. Her reply was etched into his heart and mind forever.

"_I don't know, Sasuke-kun. It's not use being sad all the time." _

He smirked to himself. He should have listened to her words. If he weren't "sad" and full of revenge, none of this would have ever happened. There would still be a pink-haired kunoichi in Konoha; there would be no worried Tsunade. All in all, Konoha would be a happier, much more bright place to be.

-:-

Sasuke reached the gates in no time, impatiently waiting for his teammate to arrive. He wanted to get a move on as soon as he could; the place he had in mind was farther than Tsunade had ever searched, and it would take him a while to get there. Finally, he sighted his teammate in the distance.

"Sasuke-teme!"

Sasuke remained silent, waiting for Naruto to come closer to speak with him.

"Alright, dobe...where are you planning to go?"

Naruto thought for moments on end, his cerulean eyes closed in deep thought.

"I was thinking I would visit all the villages Tsunade-baa-chan sent ANBU to search. They might have missed something there. When I visit all of them, I'll probably move on to the closer villages that are out of our alliance."

Sasuke nodded, agreeing with Naruto's game plan. Naruto opened his eyes, staring into Sasuke's onyx orbs.

"Sasuke-teme, how far are you willing to go?"

Sasuke smirked, the hidden meaning in Naruto's sentence instantly caught by his keen ears.

"Far away. It's a hidden village, not many know about it. I was sent there for a raid and for some compromise for the Sound. It seems they were in alliance with the late Sound, but I'm not sure if they still favor them and if they are harboring any old Sound Nin. While I'm there, it's possible I'll search for all the Missing Nin as well."

Naruto nodded, agreeing with Sasuke's game plan as well. He looked at him again, and gave him his foxy grin.

"And?" He asked.

Sasuke looked at him, and turned away, embarrassed.

"So far that even death won't stop me."

Naruto nodded, feeling accomplished that Sasuke had finally admitted _something _about their former teammate. _He's finally showing emotion...even if someone would have to squint really hard to see it._

The sun was beginning to rise, and the two looked at each other and nodded.

"I'll be sending you reports after I finish searching a village," Naruto said.

Sasuke nodded. When they had become captains with Neji and Shikamaru, the four of them had formed ways to contact each other when it was a mission where they were split up. The most effective way for faster communication was doing a jutsu they had created on their ANBU tattoo, making the tattoo work as a microphone for them. The people on the other end would be able to hear them and listen as long as the jutsu remained in tact.

"Good luck, dobe."

Naruto nodded. Sasuke gave him one last look, slipped on his ANBU mask, and sped off towards the direction of his destination. Naruto was about to speed off in the different direction to the Hidden Village of Mist, but was stopped by someone calling his name.

"Naruto-kun!"

Naruto turned around and found the Hyuuga heiress, Hyuuga Hinata, running towards him quickly. He waited patiently for her to reach him.

"Naruto," She said, breathing in deep breaths from running so fast, as she had reached his side.

"Hinata-chan."

Hinata smiled, and quickly embraced him. Naruto's eyes widened with surprise, but soon closed as he returned the embrace, a small smile on his lips.

"Be careful..." She whispered.

Naruto nodded.

"Come home when you can..."

Naruto once again nodded. Hinata removed her face from his chest and looked into his cerulean orbs, a small smile gracing her pale lips. Naruto smiled at her, and slowly pulled apart.

"Better hurry, Naruto-kun. It's almost sunrise."

Naruto smiled.

"Yeah, Hinata-chan. I better go soon. But..."

Hinata looked at him through her silver orbs, acknowledging him to continue.

"You have to promise to wait for me, and we can go get ramen every time I get back!"

Hinata blushed, smiled, and nodded.

"I promise, Naruto-kun."

A faint blush was found on Naruto's cheeks as well, and before he left, he quickly gave Hinata a kiss on her cheeks.

"Till then, Hinata-chan."

He gave her one last smile, and turned around, pulled on his ANBU kitsune mask, and disappeared.

-:-_  
_

* * *

_I'm willing to go past death for you, Sakura.

* * *

_Threw in some NaruHina fluff and some quotes from my other story - Reminiscence.  



	5. Another Important Notice

**Important Notice  
**

* * *

Okay...another important notice...xD 

I've decided to separate this fic into a different one.

The reason is because that this fic was originally meant to be angsty, but with the current course of things, almost 100 of the new chapters would NOT be angsty, and that wouldn't really fit into the story anymore.

So if you're wondering about the missing chapters, it's because I deleted them and exported/imported (depends on how you look at it) to a separate fic titled **Time for Change**.

I'm really sorry for all this confusion.


End file.
